The General's Daughter
by Reflection of a Broken Dream
Summary: Kaori and Sesshoumaru grew up together, Sesshoumaru the future Daiyoukai and Kaori the future General, as she was the current General's only child. Naraku's presence demands most of Sesshoumaru's time now and he loses track of some of his responsibilities...one of which is to sire the heir of the West. Pressed for time he doesn't have, the General makes a deal he can't refuse. Kaor
1. Chapter 1

**The General's Daughter**

**Author: Reflection of a Broken Dream**

**Pairing: Sesshoumaru x OC**

**A Quick Note:**

\- MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

\- I hope ya'll enjoy!

\- Please Review!

**Behind the Names:**

Kaori - Smell, Perfume, Fragrance

Daisuke - Great Help

Hayato - Falcon Person

Saburo - Third Son

Hayate - Smooth

Hideyoshi - Esteem or Excellence with Good Luck

Takeshi - Military, Warrior

Yuki - Happiness or Snow

**Disclaimer:**

I don't own Inuyasha or the characters but Kaori, Daisuke, Hayato, Saburo, Hayate, Hideyoshi, Takeshi, and Yuki belong to me!

**The General's Daughter**

**Chapter 1 - Enter Kaori, The General's Daughter**

"What's going on, Daisuke?" a white-silver-haired woman asked her guard as she peered out of a private room in the western palace. Outside her calm and peaceful room, chaos could be heard. Screaming, crying, people scrambling about...it was like nothing she had ever seen before.

"Get back in your room," the young man ushered, his plum eyes wide as he tried to force her back into the room. "We're being invaded."

"What?" The woman asked, her bright blue-violet eyes widening in shock. The palace itself was more of a fortress than a palace and it was built with defense in mind- the ocean laid behind it and mountains to either side; it was nearly impenitrible. The only way one could try to invade was from the front and it was always heavily guarded... "Who's attempting to invade? Don't they know that this place belongs to Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Some powerful hanyou," Daisuke frowned as he ran a hand through his short dark purple hair. He had a small bit in the back that was long, the hair tied back into a small ponytail at the base of his skull, the bound hair dancing down to his thighs. "And apparently he knows...he also knows that Sesshoumaru-sama is not here..."

"Cowardly fool!" she snapped. "The audacity! I'll teach him a thing or two..."

"No, milady, you can't!" Daisuke fruitlessly tried to stop her from slipping out of her room and into the chaos that the castle had errupted into. "Kaori-sama!" She stopped briefly, his hand caught on her arm as she looked over her shoulder at him.

"I'm the general's daughter, Daisuke, I've got to do _something_," Kaori replied, his grip not letting up.

"That may be...," he responded softly, his eyes filled with fear. "But you're also heavy with Sesshoumaru-sama's child. I can't allow you join in this fight." She paused again.

"I'm sorry, Daisuke...," Kaori surprised him, her tone contrite. He slowly released her arm, thinking she was about to cooperate. "Please forgive me!" In a move that shocked him, Kaori slammed her fist into his nose and he was sent reeling backwards. Kaori then turned on her heel and headed deep into the crowded halls of the palace.

"Sesshoumaru-sama is going to _kill _me!" Daisuke groaned as he sat up and put a hand around his newly broken and heavily bleeding nose. He had lost sight of Kaori...he was going to _die_... 

Kaori pressed through the masses of the castle, her ears ringing with all of the noisy havoc around her. There were too many civillian youkai servants here, many unaccustomed to fighting. They were panicking and running around in a similar manner as a chicken with its head cut off. At least beheaded chickens were quiet. This...was ridiculous.

"Dammit...where are you, father?" Kaori hissed as she slammed open the door to the war room. It was empty. If he wasn't there... "He's fighting. With that leg injury of his...he won't last long." Cursing colorfully under her breath, Kaori fought her way to the nearest empty guest room. Sliding the door shut behind her, she made her way swiftly to the window, shattering the glass when she leapt through it. Kaori easily pulled a layer of youki up around her body so that the glass shards didn't touch her. An added bonus was that she got to use her youki to cushion her landing, too- she'd jumped from a room on the third floor. Though Kaori's ears still lightly buzzed from the sounds of panicked servants, she could clearly hear the sounds of battle now. Metallic weapons clashed and clinked together and war cries echoed loudly around the somewhat enclosed premises. Kaori was at the back of the castle; there was no action there, but the sounds easily reverberated off of the mountains. Taking a deep breath- the scents of metallic blood and sulfuric poisons almost making her gag- she drew her sword and sped around to the right side of the castle. Most of the fighting was being done at the gates, a demonic army pressing in on the highly-trained men she'd worked with for most of her life. Kaori frowned when she realized that they were losing ground...and the dark-haired opposing leader was amusedly standing back from the fight, letting his soldiers do all the work.

"Dishonorable bastard," she growled as she joined the fray in the courtyard, locking weapons with a large gray demon that had almost brought his axe down on one of Sesshoumaru's men.

"Kaori?" the man- Hayato, a falcon demon and one of her good friends- gasped as his sharp golden eyes found her. "What are you doing out here?! You should be inside, resting, in your condition!"

"I'm not even showing yet," Kaori snorted as she thrust her sword up with enough power to make the great demon before her stumble. She took her opening, slicing neatly through the demon's torso. "Three weeks with pup and you'd think I'm _dying _the way people treat me..." The gray demon slid apart in two pieces as somewhat exasperated yet bemused blue-violet eyes met uncertain and slightly amused gold. She offered him her hand. "Really, Hayato, I'm fine. I can't sit idly by while these goons try to take over. _Especially _not when they're gaining ground..." Hayato gave a slight nod as he accepted her hand and stood with her help, his long feathery black-and-white peppered hair brushing against her skin. He wasn't _too _bad off, a few scratches here and there. The most concerning of his wounds was a small gash on his left forearm.

"I suppose that's understandable," Hayato inclined his head, the man grabbing his spear as a new enemy approached. "Just promise that you'll be careful. Sesshoumaru-sama will have our heads if we lose this battle...or if you lose the pup _because _of this battle." He swung around, batting the enemy in the head with the blunt side of the spear before he lunged and sent the tip of the spear straight through the demon's heart.

"I promise," Kaori nodded as she took on her own enemy, clashing swords with him a mere three times before she cleanly severed his head from his body. She pulled back quickly from the blood that sprayed, feeling a bit nauseous. "If all else fails, I can use this pregnancy against our enemy..."

"How so?" Hayato asked as they began tearing down more demons.

"The scent of all of this blood is making me a bit ill," Kaori admitted, getting a concerned glance from the falcon demon as they fought nearly back-to-back. "I could always transform and empty my stomach on them...the acid should be strong enough to take a few out."

"_That_...is disgusting...," Hayato both cringed and laughed as another demon fell. "But it would make for a decent distraction, at least."

"It would, wouldn't it?" Kaori grinned as they lessened the number of youkai in their area. "Quick question." Hayato hummed as his spear entered the neck of another enemy. Kaori turned her head so she didn't have to see it...though her sensitive nose still picked up on the massive spray of blood... "Have you seen my father? I couldn't find him inside."

"He's about at the heart of the conflict," Hayato admitted with a soft sigh, pointing to an area near the gates. There was a congested mass of soldiers and enemies facing off in close quarters. "His leg was still bothering him, but he went in anyway. That's the general for you..." Kaori couldn't help but sigh. "I haven't seen him since the start of the fight, though, so I don't know how he's holding up. Are you going to head that way?"

"Yeah, I need to," Kaori nodded. "Sesshoumaru-sama would be unhappy if he lost his powerful general." Hayato nodded slowly, his spear finding another enemy's gut. Kaori took out another three enemies before looking back at Hayato. "Can you handle it from here?"

"Yeah," Hayato grunted, staving off another enemy. "I'll be able to use more powerful techniques when you're out of range, so don't worry about me." Kaori nodded. She knew his abilities first-hand; he would be fine.

"I'll leave it to you, then," Kaori relented as she took out another two before sprinting off towards the gates. Her blade found several enemy torsos on her way there, the woman flitting across the battlefield in a white-silver blur, her silken blue haori rustling as she went. Kaori had almost reached the gates when a large troll demon came barrelling into the courtyard. Standing nearly as tall as the three-floor castle, he roared deafeningly as he raised his large club fashioned of rock. The area around him immediately cleared, none wanting to get stepped on or bashed in by the club. Kaori slid to a stop, her breath hitched as the giant purple troll hit the ground, causing a miniature earthquake. "You've _got _to be kidding me..." The soldiers went out of their way to avoid the creature as it attacked friend and foe alike. They were afraid...and it was understandable, but...he _had _to be dealt with. If he continued as he was, he'd take down the palace... "You're the general's daughter. It's the general's job to rally the men in situations like this. The general can't right now...but _I _can..." Taking a deep breath, Kaori decided on a risky course of action. Wrapping her fluffy tail- much like Sesshoumaru's- around her waist to help reinforce and protect her belly, Kaori leaned forwards and easily dashed into the clearing with the large demon that no one wanted to face. Standing straight and proud before the threat, Kaori drew up her sword.

"COWARDS!" Kaori had caught the attention of many of the surrounding allies and enemies alike. Even the bald troll demon turned his large red eyes to her. "Don't _avoid _the enemy! Let alone, he will _decimate _every_thing_ and every_one_. Stand up and face him as you would _any _other enemy! He can bleed just as well as _they _can!" The troll tried to bring his club down upon her, but Kaori was too fast. She ran to the side, leaping up as the club hit where she'd been mere moments ago. Kaori's feet found the back of a stumbling enemy, and she used him to push off of. Leaping high, Kaori managed to land on the troll's rising club as the enemy she'd used fell to the ground. Surprised red met narrowed blue-violet. "This enemy is as mortal as any of _us _and his weak spots are much larger and unprotected! Strike him _down_!" In a smooth move, Kaori had slid forwards on the club and swung her sword gracefully and swiftly against his exposed inner wrist. Giving a loud cry, the troll dropped the club and grabbed his right wrist with his left hand. _'Dammit!' _Kaori cursed silently as she leapt onto the troll's arm. _'I didn't cut deep enough...I missed the vein...' _The angered troll tried to swat her away, but Kaori just climbed up his arm onto his shoulder before he could touch her. She quickly scrambled over to his thick neck, her sword at the ready. Before she could strike, the troll gave a cry and moved jerkily. Looking down, Kaori could see that she'd succeeded in riling the troops. Five or six danced around the troll's feet, slicing them with their weapons. While that was great...it was also kind of bad. She had to dig her claws into his shoulder to hang on, as he was only wearing a loin cloth and he had no hair to grab onto. The troll let out a groan of frustration, trying to stomp on the soldiers underfoot. Distracted by trying to hang on, Kaori didn't see his hand coming at her. His hand collided with her body, knocking the air from her lungs. She couldn't have been happier that she'd thought to protect her belly, but he had still knocked the wind from her. Flying from the back of his shoulder, she managed to catch herself just in time to bring her youki up and cushion her landing a bit, her boot-clad feet digging into the rocky terrain as she slid back and struggled to regain her breath.

"You okay?" Saburo asked as he broke through the enemy lines to skid to a stop at her side. Thankful blue-violet orbs met worried forest green as he quickly helped her fully stand up again from her somewhat crouched position.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kaori reassured the wolf youkai she thought of as an older brother as they both turned back to the stumbling troll demon.

"I see you padded the pup," Saburo noted idly as they watched the fight a long moment.

"Yeah...," Kaori touched her throbbing tail still wound around her midsection. Between that and her special body armor that her father'd had Totosai make her a long time ago, Kaori was certain that her pup was safe- her midsection didn't even hurt. The armor she wore didn't look like typical armor. It was crafted from her hair and dragon scales into a skin-tight black fabric that covered her skin from her neck down her arms and torso- in front _and _back- down to her thighs. It was incredibly flexible and comfortable, but also hard to penetrate. She wore it beneath her knee-length, blue, sleeveless silken haori. A simple black tie kept the haori to her form without restraining her movements. She skipped out on hakama for mobility. Kaori was allowed to wear what she wished when off duty, and she'd been off duty for about four weeks...it had started when her father had used her as a bargaining chip for their lord, to give Sesshoumaru a strong heir while also strengthening his own bloodline. She was his only child, after all. His mate, her mother, had died giving birth to her, so she would have no other siblings. Kaori had to do what was necissary to make up for the lack of male heir and make her father proud. "I made sure he would be okay. I _had _to..."

"Hm," Saburo nodded understandingly. "Should you even be out here?" He turned his questioning gaze to her, his brow lifted expectantly.

"I'm _pregnant_, _not _incapacitated," Kaori huffed, making his lips curl at the ends. "Looks like I was needed here, anyway." Saburo could only incline his head as he speared an enemy with his cat's claw without looking at him. He threw the body off with ease and shook off the blood. Kaori felt her stomach roil with the scent she'd been trying to ignore. _'Damn pregnancy,' _she inwardly scowled. _'Blood and guts don't usually bother me...I'm not squeamish in the __**least**__...' _Growing up trained as a boy, she didn't have _time _to be squeamish.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Saburo spared her a glance as he flicked his deadly hand at another enemy. "You look...green..."

"Pregnancy illness," Kaori crinkled her nose at him as the body fell, spraying blood. "The scent of blood bothers me, that's all."

"Ah...bad place to be, then," he answered with a chiding look that didn't fail to make her feel a bit sheepish. "Why don't you go back inside? You've faired well and you've given our troops hope of defeating the troll. That's more than we could have asked of you at this time."

"I can't," Kaori sighed as she sliced into another enemy, sheilding her nose as he fell, blood gushing and his body twitching. "I've got to find father, at the very least, and back him up..."

"He's fine," Saburo waved off. "Hayate's got General Hideyoshi's back and Takeshi and Yuki have flanked him. He's hurt- obviously- but safe."

"And the hanyou that attacked?" Kaori asked, feeling better about her father's condition. "You know he's standing beyond the gates, watching the destruction rather than joining it, don't you?"

"We saw," Saburo nodded. "He's too powerful to approach without a few of us banding together. We can't do _that _until we whittle the numbers down a little more... Will you go back inside now?" Kaori nearly laughed at his almost pleading tone. He was only looking out for her well-being, she knew, and she would heed him..._after _she finished her fight.

"Help me take down the troll and I'll run, screaming, back into the castle," Kaori agreed, gaining a full-out smile from the wolf.

"What've you got in mind, then?" he asked curiously as they turned together and took out a few demons thinking to ambush them.

"Have you got any guro wire?" She asked expectantly. He nodded, pulling a bit from a pouch for show.

"Devil's Chokehold, then?" He asked knowingly, Kaori nodding back at him. It was a maneuver they'd come up with years ago to take out particularly large and powerful enemies. He nodded back at her, the woman swinging her sword back to catch two more demons in the gut. "I'll go first. You follow up and wind it around his neck. Be careful. Keep your footsteps light so that he won't catch you again."

"Right," Kaori nodded as he holstered one of his two cat's claws and pulled out the long length of guro wire. He handed her one end of it as he grabbed onto the opposite end. "In the Western lands of the setting sun..."

"The enemy's life will wane with the light, and our lord will rule the night," Saburo finished the age-old motto of the guard. The motto had been in place long before Sesshoumaru's family had ruled the West, and it had been passed down through the ages. The motto could be traced back to the first family who had taken the lands as their own- a family of bat demons. It suited the bat demons better than any of the other demons that had ruled, but the motto continued to raise morale, so it was never changed. "Ready?"

"Ready," Kaori nodded as she sheithed her sword. She'd need _both _hands for _this_. With a quick incline of his head and a jab into another demon's gut with his remaining cat's claw, Saburo headed off. Kaori took a breath and counted to ten in her head before she followed, the wolf already at the troll's feet. A few enemies closed in on her, but she easily shoved them out of her way. Saburo was climbing the troll's body, zig-zagging so that he wouldn't get caught. Kaori leapt up after him, swinging on the troll's loin cloth as he turned, trying to swipe Saburo away. The simple-minded troll was so busy with Saburo that he didn't notice Kaori. She took precautions to keep out of sight and to keep her footsteps light as she climbed the giant's body. With some time and effort, she managed to make it to his shoulder. Saburo was climbing the troll's arm when she looked down, the man looking up at her and giving her an approving nod. Kaori nodded back, taking a firm grip on the guro wire before she took off across his back, Saburo swinging on the wire on the other side to support her weight as she made it to the other side. Kaori held onto the wire as he swung back around, pulling on the wire a bit as he did. She waited until she had slack before pulling enough up to fully wrap around the beast's neck. Taking a breath and a chance, she leapt from one shoulder to the other, drawing the troll's attention. He stumbled and grunted as she flew before his eyes, but it was too late for him. "NOW!" Kaori firmly grabbed the wire and yanked it towards his back and pulled down. At the same time, Saburo yanked the wire down the troll's front, causing the wire wound around the troll's throat to slice into the tender flesh. Gurgling sounds came from the troll's neck and lips as he tried futilly to pat at both Kaori and Saburo to try and free his neck. Kaori was down his back and she made sure to stay between his shoulder blades so that he couldn't grab her. Saburo had a tougher time of staying out of his grasp, but he did well enough. Soon, they'd pulled hard enough. The wire did its job with the help of their combined weight- the wire dug in all the way to his spinal cord. Blood spilled down all sides, soaking them both in the sticky red goo as he began to stumble and fall. "Ech!" Kaori had to hold her breath as he fell. She watched a bloody Saburo leap down and roll off to the side. She jumped before the giant could fall, the woman _covered _in blood. Youki softened her landing and Saburo was at her side in an instant.

"Kaori, are you...," Saburo started and stopped as Kaori took a shaky breath. The sickening scent of blood filled her nostrils and her stomach roiled painfully again. She couldn't stop it this time- Kaori doubled over and retched. "Easy, now..." He held her thigh-length hair back as she emptied her stomach out onto the soiled ground.

"Everything alright?" Hayato asked he covered them, taking out all of the nearby foes. A new recruit that Kaori didn't recognize soon joined him.

"Yes...she's just ill," Saburo waved off, noticing the relief of the soldiers all around them. With the death of the troll, they were able to catch their second wind. The enemy was almost defeated..._almost_... A few more and they could start after that blasted hanyou. "She'd said that the scent of blood was bothering her..."

"She mentioned that earlier...," Hayato sighed as Kaori panted, finally able to breathe. The blood still made her stomach churn, but there was nothing else left for her to expel... "Take this and have her clean her nose and mouth." Hayato tossed back his white headband. Saburo caught it and offered it to Kaori. She took it gratefully and completely cleaned her nose of the troll's blood and the area around it, as well as her mouth. Fresh air! She could smell _fresh air_!

"Thanks," Kaori managed to get out huskily. Her haori was soaked in blood... "Pft!" She spit several times to the side, cleansing her mouth of bile. "You want it back?"

"No...I've got a few more," Hayato answered honestly. She let the fabric drift to the ground as Saburo let her hair go and helped her stand upright again.

"You going to run screaming back to the castle now?" Saburo teased amusedly. "You've reached your level of helpfulness for _this _battle, I think."

"Probably so," Kaori managed to give him a weak grin. "Yeah, I'll go back inside. You guys take care, alright?"

"Will do," Hayato nodded, giving her a sidelong glance and a small smile.

"Get to safety, Kaori, and don't worry about the rest," Saburo gently patted her back. "We've got it from here." Nodding and feeling like everything was going to be okay, Kaori drew her sword and started back towards the castle. Things were going well, but there were still enemies around. She would defend herself if need be. Jogging through the groups of demons, mostly Sesshoumaru's soldiers were left now, she wound her way back through the courtyard towards the palace.

"Mnn...," Kaori hummed as she gave a glance at the barricaded front entrance of the palace. She quickly decided it was best to go back to the the rear of the castle and get in through that third floor window that she'd broken out of earlier. She was turning the corner when a hand reached out and grabbed her left elbow. Startling, Kaori looked up into a pair of unfamiliar and sinister-looking crimson orbs. The man's- hanyou's- skin was a deathly pale pallor and his ink-colored hair danced over his heavily armored form in loose waves. This was not one of Sesshoumaru-sama's soldiers. She knew their faces, even the new recruits. A smirk slowly formed over his face and it hit her. This was the hanyou that had started the attack, the man she'd seen standing away from the fight a little while ago. "_You_."

**\- End of Chapter 1 -**

\- Cliffy! Dun dun duuuuuuun! Suspense! lol XD (Sorry, guys!)

\- Who is this hanyou? Why has he attacked the palace? Why did he sneak around and grab Kaori? Find out in Chapter 2!

\- Hope ya'll enjoyed!

\- Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**The General's Daughter**

**Author: Reflection of a Broken Dream**

**Pairing: Sesshoumaru x OC**

**A Quick Note:**

\- BELATED MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

\- I hope ya'll enjoy!

\- Please Review!

**Behind the Name:**

Kaori - Smell, Perfume, Fragrance

Daisuke - Great Help

Hayato - Falcon Person

Saburo - Third Son

Hayate - Smooth

Hideyoshi - Esteem or Excellence with Good Luck

Takeshi - Military, Warrior

Yuki - Happiness or Snow

Kuro - Nineth Son

Kouta - Big, Peace, or Thick

Nobu - Prolong or Stretch

**Disclaimer:**

I don't own Inuyasha or the characters but Kaori, Daisuke, Hayato, Saburo, Hayate, Hideyoshi, Takeshi, Yuki, Kuro, Kouta, and Nobu belong to me!

**The General's Daughter **

**\- Chapter 2 - Battle With a Nefarious Hanyou**

**Recap**

"Mnn...," Kaori hummed as she gave a glance at the barricaded front entrance of the palace. She quickly decided it was best to go back to the the rear of the castle and get in through that third floor window that she'd broken out of earlier. She was turning the corner when a hand reached out and grabbed her left elbow. Startling, Kaori looked up into a pair of unfamiliar and sinister-looking crimson orbs. The man's- hanyou's- skin was a deathly pale pallor and his ink-colored hair danced over his heavily armored form in loose waves. This was not one of Sesshoumaru-sama's soldiers. She knew their faces, even the new recruits. A smirk slowly formed over his face and it hit her. This was the hanyou that had started the attack, the man she'd seen standing away from the fight a little while ago. "_You_."

"You killed the troll that was supposed to destroy Sesshoumaru's palace," the man spoke, his voice husky. Something in his tone was dark and chilling, and it immediately made Kaori uneasy. Her grip on her sword tightened as his hold increased the pressure on her arm. "You and that other...but _you're _the one that riled them, gave them hope... I'll take _your _life."

"You're gonna have one hell of a fight on your hands," Kaori hissed back at the unfamiliar hanyou, her eyes narrowing at him. _'Who the hell does he think he __**is**__?!' _she roared in the silent confines of her mind.

"Oh...I know," he chuckled darkly. "I count on it." Releasing her arm and stepping back, his youki flared around him and his eyes glowed darkly, making them look like gleaming blood gems. Kaori snarled as she realized that he was transforming into a larger, stronger form. Two could play at _that _game. Kaori released her own restraints, growling as her blue eyes bled red, her own youki billowing out around her. _'The only bad thing about this_...,' she mused to herself as her face grew longer, into the snout of the silver inu, '..._is that my scent will grow with my transformed body. He will know I'm with pup...' _Worry plauged her for a moment, but she let it go in favor of full focus. She couldn't protect _anyone _without her full focus. In a burst of light, Kaori transformed into her full demonic form. She was a large white-silver inu- though her pristine fur was currently matted and drenched brown and crimson because of the troll blood-, much like Sesshoumaru in his true form, but smaller and leaner. What she lacked in power compared to her lord, she made up for in speed. Her markings were a bit different, as well. Where Sesshoumaru had the blue crescent moon on his forehead, maroon streaks on his eyelids, and two maroon stripes that merged into one in his transformation, Kaori had navy streaks on her own eyelids, and two wavy matching markings on each of her cheeks in her humanoid form that grew when she transformed, the marks ending just beneath her floppy white ears. Kaori roared when her four paws hit the ground, alerting the soldiers and guards to the oncoming battle. She wasn't dissappointed, most of the soldiers and remaining enemies turning towards them. Her crimson gaze locked on the being just across from her, the grotesque spider before her almost twice her size. The only odd part...was that his humanoid torso protruded from the spideresque form instead of having a spider-like head with eight eyes. That oddity she put off to him being a hanyou achieving a full youkai's form. She'd never heard of such a thing before... "You inu are quite amazing in your true form...beautiful, even. And...pregnant...?" The hanyou's eyes widened a bit at that.

"Kaori!" Kaori heard a voice errupt from the silence of the battlefield. She knew that voice very _very _well. Keeping her eyes on the enemy, she answered.

"_Father?" _she yipped out in a short, clipped bark. She knew he would understand her- he knew the inu language inside and out. The sounds of battle resumed around her, but she took care not to look anywhere but at the, now deviously smirking, hanyou before her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" General Hideyoshi yelled at his daughter, the man surrounded by three other soldiers that killed off any enemy that dare approach. "You can't fight him in your condition!" Kaori resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was pregnant, _pregnant_, _not _incapacitated!

"_Spider challenge __**me**_," she growled out, inwardly irritated by the inu language. Not much could be spoken back and forth, just the essentials. "_For helping pack. Spider want kill me. Father can't fight. Pack can't fight. I fight for pack_." Kaori hoped she got her point across- her father couldn't transform in his current state and none of the other men could transform into something as large and strong as her. She was going to protect them from him. Hideyoshi's voice paused; she felt hesitation from him.

"Lord Sesshoumaru's child," the spider hanyou looked amazed as he gazed at her. Kaori bore her sharp fangs at him in warning, her muscles tensed and poised to strike or leap away from him. "Interesting...very, _very _interesting... I could hold his very heart right here in my hands." Devious lips lifted into a satisfied smirk.

'_As though Sesshoumaru-sama could love someone like __**me**__...,' _Kaori inwardly snorted, feeling a small sting from the thought. She shook it off. She knew better than to think of things like that. This was an agreement to bear his heir, she wasn't to be his mate. He let her know this a few times from the start, and the _way _that he had impregnated her had said plenty of what he thought of her... Tucking away her feelings for another time, she focused on the issue at hand. A very observant spider hanyou facing her down in a very large and powerful form.

"_Spider wrong_," Kaori growled softly, knowing he wouldn't understand her. "_Spider stupid_."

"Not love, then?" he surprised her, his nostrils flaring. He was smelling for the changes in her scent, her emotions telling him what he wanted to know. Slick bastard! "Just an heir...still, a worthy enough kill. It will hurt him to _some _degree. I will kill his child, if nothing else."

"Be cautious, but tear him apart," Hideyoshi's call surprised her. "That's an order."

_'My pleasure_...,' Kaori seethed inwardly as she yipped a 'yes' to her father. She didn't wait to pounce, her claws tearing into the spider's body as well as her razor sharp teeth. The hanyou gave a cry of pain as his blood trickled from the wounds...purple blood heavily endowed with sulfuric-scented poisons. Kaori immediately released her hold on him with a low whine. The scent of sulfur and metallic blood was bad enough, but she'd got a bit of the poisonous blood in her mouth.

"Kukukuku...did the bitch get a taste of the poison?" he chortled as she backed into the ocean, her eyes never leaving his as she washed her mouth out in the salty water. It made her want for water, her mouth dry, but she knew better than to drink it. She could have a drink of unsalted water _after _the battle.

"Kaori!" Hideyoshi called to her, his voice sounding worried. She knew it was more for the child than for her...she couldn't remember the last time he'd worried over _her_...

"_Poison gone_," she barked at him when her mouth was clean, her large tongue lolling to the side and dripping sea water.

"My turn," the hanyou surprised Kaori. For such a big creature, he was awefully nimble. She blinked and the spider was atop her, his long legs closing in around her. Kaori yipped in surprise and fought the legs to no avail. His large body seated atop her as she pawed at the legs, digging her claws into his flesh. Purple blood flowed into sea around them, turning the once-blue waves a murky violet. A low whine escaped her lips as he pressed her down towards the sea. She clamped her muzzle firmly shut as not to get any of the tainted water in her mouth. Her nose was nearly in the waves when he leaned down so that he could speak to her, her body trembling with the effort to push herself up and out of the water. '_Why can't I push myself further out of the water?' _Kaori asked herself silently, unable to use all of her strength for some unknown reason. '_Is it because of the pup...?' _"Know that it was Naraku that killed you and the brat of the West." He chuckled darkly as her eyes widened.

_'Naraku?' _she asked silently as she barely kept her nose from the water. _'The hanyou that Sesshoumaru-sama has warned us to stay away from at all costs..?' _Her gaze whipped up to the satisfied-looking malicious hanyou above her. Something in his smug expression snapped something inside of her- her fear suddenly gave way to anger. '_I'm not going to let him win. I won't. I can't. Not today...not __**ever**_!' With an silent snap her strength began to return and Kaori slowly hefted herself up from the water, lifting the surprised spider along with her.

"What...? You shouldn't be able to move!" Naraku spoke, his own crimson eyes wide as he gazed down at Kaori's upturned face. "The scent of my toxins alone should have paralyzed you for a time!"

_'They did_,' she realized belatedly. _That's _why it was so hard for her to move against him and resist once he started pushing her down. '_But I pushed through it...just like when father and Lord Inu no Taisho trained me with poisons a few hundred years ago... I overcame __**this one**__, too_.' A malicious smirk of her own slid across her elongated face as she fully stood to her feet once more, her red-brown blood-stained fur having mixed with the lavender from the murky water to create a dark pink-purple. Kaori also realized that she heard shouting from the shore. Some of the soldiers, her friends and the new recruits, even, were yelling suggestions and telling her what she should do to the foul hanyou. Curious scarlet orbs scanned the shore line, seeing the soldiers that remained watching the fight closely while yelling at her. Her father was the only one entirely still amongst the chaos, his eyes trained completely on her.

"_Move pack back_," she barked at him, her body still straining to hold the hanyou up. "_Fight on land_." She needed to move the fight to land; things would only get stickier in the water. Hideyoshi nodded and some of the inu demons began backing away from the shore and moving the ranks back.

"Fall back," Hideyoshi called. "The fight moves to land!" More of the ranks fell back as Kaori nodded once.

"I don't think so!" Naraku hissed from above her.

"_No choice_," she snarled back at him. With a breath, Kaori decided exactly what she would do, and she would do it carefully. He started to lean his body forwards, but she snapped her jaws at him, forcing him back. After a moment of pushing him back, though not completely from her back, she made her move. Whipping her head around so fast she almost gave herself whiplash, Kaori sank her teeth into one of Naraku's legs. He gave a spitting hiss of pain and she tilted her head, making sure that the poison flowed out of her mouth as she held her breath. Clamping her mouth around the leg a little better, Kaori jerked forwards, forcefully removing the spider from her back, and dragged him to shore. He cried out and wriggled in her grasp, but she didn't relent. All of their men were back, so she dragged him well onto land and spun around when he tried to twist away. She released his leg and gave a feral growl before she descended upon the spider, her claws finding purchase against his flesh. She kept the creature on it's back, his legs thrashing wildly against her sides as the humanoid torso writhed uncomfortably, trying to twist and turn back onto his eight legs. Oh, no...seven. Kaori tore one from his body, eliciting an agonized inhuman screech from the wretch. Using the momentary shock of a loss of limb to her advantage, Kaori ripped another off with her claws. Another bone-chilling scream ripped from the hanyou's throat. She was ripping a third leg off when he seemed to come to his senses, his pale white humanoid hand launching forwards and spraying a fog-like poison into her face. She sneezed and immediately jumped back, not wanting to breathe it in. That gave him enough time to scramble to his feet, albeit a little awkwardly. Two of his legs on his left side were gone and one on the right was barely hanging on by a thread, completely useless.

"I've underestimated you," Naraku admitted as he strained to stay standing, his whole body shuddering with the effort and pain. Purple blood had flooded the back of the castle and it was taking all of Kaori's willpower to breathe shallowly and not let her aching, roiling stomach empty again. "You're not just a weak bitch that I can easily take down on my own..."

"_Stupid spider_," she sneered. "_You die_." Launching forwards without warning, she almost caught him offguard. He reigned in at the last minute, holding her off with three of his legs, using the remaining two to anchor himself between her and the ground. He was quickly being pushed back. Panicked blood orbs suddenly glittered and a mischievious smirk lit the hanyou's face. Before Kaori could figure out what he was up to, she fell forwards, her paws hitting the ground. She managed to stop before her face hit, but she immediately searched for her prey. He was a ways away, in his humanoid form again. "_Coward!"_ While her true form was powerful, she knew she would be at a disadvantage against his smaller humanoid form. He would more easily have access to her belly, as well...so she did the only thing she _could _do, Kaori transformed back into her humanoid form in a burst of white light. The transformation, one way or the other, took a lot of energy...her youki was nearly depleted now. Looking for her quarry as her feet hit the ground, Kaori realized that the other men were after him, keeping him busy. She wanted to finish the fight, herself, but she couldn't as she was. She was too tired, too weak, to continue fighting him.

"Kaori," a voice to her right caught her attention, the girl panting softly as she turned to the owner of the voice. Daisuke stood at her side, a bit of blood smeared on his face and body. His nose looked better...but it wasn't fully healed yet. "General Hideyoshi asked me to guard you while they finish him." Kaori could only nod to show that she'd heard, her stomach giving her fits as she spit a bit of poison to the side. "Are you alright?" Worried plum orbs scanned her blood-and-poison-stained form for a long moment.

"Yeah...," she managed to reply huskily, most of her body sore and tired from the fight. Her stomach had only gotten a kick or two and it hadn't hurt all that bad, so she was optimistic about her pup being alright. Kaori winced slightly and pointed a thin finger up towards his nose. "Sorry."

"We'll talk about _that _later," he frowned lightly. She nodded. Kaori shouldn't have hit him, she knew it, so she would take whatever earful or punishment he wanted to dish out later. Right now, she was just going to rest and enjoy being protected for once. Her blue-violet eyes found the hanyou that was quickly being chased from the premises...it hadn't taken him long to relent. His crimson orbs found her eyes once more, a cocky grin spreading across his face despite his severe injuries.

"I will return for you," Naraku's voice carried to her on the breeze before he dissappeared in the form of a bright violet orb that sped into the sky and quickly vanished. Kaori felt faint. Her stomach was a mess and she was fighting violent upheavals.

"Kaori?" Daisuke asked, his voice slightly softer with concern. Nope. She couldn't hold it back. Stumbling to the side, away from Daisuke, Kaori began dry heaving, only bits of bile coming up from her empty stomach. "Geez..." She heard him moving towards her, his hands pulling back her curtain of silvery hair that was sticky and dripping lavender and an odd pink-purple color with the combination of blood and poison. "Is it the morning sickness or is it the poison?" She didn't answer for a moment, her stomach giving her a moment of peace after a long minute of heaving.

"They should call it...all-day sickness...not just morning," she managed to get out of her raw and burning throat, tears stinging her eyes. "Not poison. All out." Her bile had taken it from her mouth...or burned it off. Why couldn't her saliva be acidic like Sesshoumaru-sama's? Then she wouldn't have to worry about poison...she could just burn it away with her spit...

"Well that's a relief, at least," he let out a relieved breath. "Can you stand? The general is coming." Slowly, Kaori nodded. Her father would expect no less. Regulating her breaths to shallow intakes and wiping her mouth on her ruined haori, she let Daisuke help her to her feet. She idly noted that she felt exhausted...and a bit dizzy from her exertion. Her eyes, however, trained on her father as he approached slowly, coming to a stop in front of her. Hard silver eyes pierced her violet-blues...then, suddenly, she was reeling from a hard slap to the face. She stumbled back into a surprised-smelling Daisuke, his large hands holding her steady so she didn't fall. "General!"

"What you did today, Kaori, was inexcuseable," Hideyoshi spoke, his tone hard as Kaori looked back up at him, a metallic tang in her mouth causing her stomach to roil again. She spit the blood to the side with ease as she stood up again, this time on her own. "While you were the one to give the men hope against the troll and you dealt most of the damage to the halfbreed-"

"Naraku," Kaori interjected. The slight widening of his eyes was the only show of his surprise as his brows narrowed down.

"You're sure?" he asked seriously.

"He told me in the ocean," Kaori inclined her head, ignoring her sore throat. "Wanted me to know who was going to kill Sesshoumaru's bitch and child." _'And failed_,' she added on silently as a wry smirk of a smile crossed her face. "Sesshoumaru-sama had once described him as an insolent spider hanyou with black hair and red eyes, his scent permiated with a dense miasmic poison. I would say that he was all of those things." Her father's eyes were alight with recognition and realization. Kaori could see how tired he was, though. He wasn't the young general he'd once been.

"I see...that changes things, then," he answered, surprising her a bit. "You're still in trouble, don't doubt that, but it will have to wait." Kaori blinked in surprise. He _never _put off her punishments...

"General Hideyoshi?" Kaori asked softly, knowing that she shouldn't call him 'father' in front of the soldiers. He didn't like that; he claimed it was unprofessional. So...she didn't.

"He is after _you_, Kaori," Hideyoshi answered in his usual straightforwards manner. _'I am aware_,' she replied silently. "You and the child. We don't have the strength right now to pull off battles like this and he said he would return for you." Kaori inclined her head once knowingly. There were too many inner wars going on at the moment, the South attempting to move in on the Western lands. They had their hands full just dealing with _them_. "So I'm sending you off with Daisuke and another guard to travel with Sesshoumaru-sama. You will be safer with him for the time being and _we _won't have to worry about being cornered by both Naraku and the Southern Lord." While she knew this was the best course of action, she couldn't help swallowing hard at the thought of being forced to travel with her lord. It wasn't because she had a crush or was giddy to see him...quite the opposite, actually. They had been friends since they were pups, but...the rutting had changed things between them. At least for Kaori. It hadn't been a pleasant experience for her, and she couldn't help the slight fear she now held for him...a fear that she had never had for him before, even through the _worst _of times between them... "Go and briefly clean up. Change your clothes and pack. You leave in an hour. Same goes to you, Daisuke."

"Sir," he inclined his head respectfully.

"An hour?" Kaori repeated softly, her heart pounding loudly in her ears.

"Dismissed," Hideyoshi waved his hand at them and she watched him approach the other soldiers who were already busying themselves cleaning up the lands.

"Do you need me to help you inside?" Daisuke offered gently as she looked back at him with a dazed expression on her face. She quickly snapped out of it.

"I'm fine," she pulled up her emotionless facade that she usually went into battle with. "Meet me in the courtyard in an hour so that we can leave." Turning, Kaori strode back towards the castle, the back door open and teeming with people filtering in and out to clean up the lands around the castle. The sick feeling returned ten fold, but it had nothing to do with her pregnancy this time...

**\- End of Chapter 2 -**

\- I decided not to leave ya'll with a cliffy from the last chapter, so I made this one. :)

\- BELATED MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

\- Hope Ya'll Liked It!

\- Please Review!


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